The next event in the expenditure cycle is the receipt of the inventory. Goods arriving from the vendor are reconciled with the blind copy of the PO. The blind copy, illustrated in Figure 10.17, contains no quantity or price information about the products being received. The purpose of the blind copy is to force the receiving clerk to count and inspect inventories prior to completing the receiving report. At times, receiving docks are very busy and receiving staff are under pressure to unload the delivery trucks and sign the bills of lading so the truck drivers can go on their way. If receiving clerks are only provided quantity information, they may be tempted to accept deliveries on the basis of this information alone, rather than verify the quantity and condition of the goods. Shipments that are short or contain damaged or incorrect items must be detected
before the firm accepts and places the goods in inventory. The blind copy is an important
device in reducing this exposure